On Monday, a suspect was arraigned in Mombasa for disseminating false information that claimed a woman had defrauded Kilifi Governor Gideon Mun'garo of Ksh. 200 million.
Section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018 charges Jimmy Charles Mureithi with publishing false information. He appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo to respond to the charges.
He is charged with disseminating false information that the complainant, Loise Makena, who had sued him, had lost millions of dollars to the Kilifi County boss.
The prosecution claims that Mureithi deliberately posted false information on Facebook under the alias "Mureithi Wa Lucy," claiming that Makena had defrauded Governor Mun'garo and damaged her reputation.
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Mureithi entered a not-guilty plea to the charge during the court hearing; the incident was reported to have happened at an undisclosed date, time, and place.
Using the excuse of ongoing police investigations, the prosecution opposed Mureithi's immediate release on bail.
The police held the suspect for seven days while they finished their investigation. During that time, they analyzed two cell phones that were found on him and possibly used in the commission of the crime.
The prosecution informed the court that the phone analysis might identify potential accomplices in the alleged crime.
To enable the completion of the ongoing investigation, the court mandated that the suspect be held at the Mombasa Central Police Station for an additional two days.
When the court rules on his bail request, he will make another appearance in court on April 11.
